by Ted Bell
Part of Alexander Hawke, book 3
First published 2005
Intelligence operative Alex Hawke faces his most dangerous mission yet when a captured American spy aboard the Star of Shanghai holds explosive evidence of a deadly pact between China and France. The prisoner faces torture and death unless rescued quickly. In Paris, a Napoleon descendant has seized power and dreams of restoring French dominance. Chinese leaders in Beijing's Forbidden City fuel his ambitions while plotting to use their nuclear weapons against the world. Hawke teams with former Navy SEAL Stokely Jones to uncover the conspiracy's roots. Their investigation leads them to a German industrialist hiding secrets in his Bavarian fortress. Meanwhile, clues from an old Paris murder surface in New York, threatening to expose the mastermind behind the plot. As American and British forces prepare to defend a Gulf nation from invasion, the world edges toward nuclear catastrophe. Hawke must draw on every skill and painful memory to defeat an enemy unlike any he has faced. The stakes could not be higher as thousands of lives hang in the balance.
Genres: historical-fiction, military-fiction, adventure, thriller, action, espionage
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Bavaria, Beijing, Gulf, New York, Paris, Shanghai
Period: 21st-century
Audio Cassette · Brilliance Audio
Content warnings: violence